If you’ve heard about the Cherry Lola Treatment, you might be wondering what it is and how it helps naturalistas. The Cherry Lola Treatment was created in 2009 by blogger, Cherry Lola, to repair damaged hair.
The treatment has simple ingredients and is easy to apply. Because naturals tend to have dry hair, curly women everywhere search for remedies or products that help retain moisture.
The Cherry Lola Treatment is the answer and does the job in 30 minutes or less.
What is a Cherry Lola Treatment?
The Cherry Lola Treatment is a remedy that hydrates hair and reduces frizz. It sparked new treatments such as the Maximum Hydration Method (MHM).
One of the reasons why this method continues to appeal to natural queens is that the ingredients are simple, inexpensive, and easy to find. All you need is
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You can also make your mixture with conditioner to add even more moisture. Or you can mix it with apple cider vinegar for added softness and manageability.
Some women use it without aminos because of protein-sensitivity, but it is up to you to experiment with the original recipe. The treatment naturally relaxes curls and helps your hair absorb moisture.
It works well on all textures but the results vary, depending upon the condition of your hair. This treatment is great for restoring and building healthy, natural hair.
Benefits
- The Cherry Lola Treatment is helpful for all textures. The treatment relaxes hair without damaging it, making it easy to manage and detangle.
- It also helps to restore damaged hair. The amino acids in Braggs strengthen and restore hair.
- Arginine is an amino acid that stimulates hair growth. Alanine improves the hair’s surface, and retains and balances moisture, according to a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science.
- The amino acids, histidine and phenylalanine, fortify hair and help it to grow. The beauty of yogurt is that it penetrates the hair shaft, and the protein and fat repairs and builds hair.
- This is important for healthy, strong hair. Baking soda relaxes the hair, giving all textures more manageability.
- It loosens curls, but does not straighten them. The treatment is very effective on high-porosity hair because it reduces frizz and adds shine.
- This treatment works on dyed hair by enhancing the vibrancy of color and combating dryness. It will also keep henna dye looking fresh and radiant.
- Use it after henna to brighten hair. It works well on transitioning hair or relaxed hair too.
- The treatment prevents shedding and breakage and increases hydration. This method is great for restoring moisture and building the hair after the chemical relax process.
How Often Can the Cherry Lola Treatment be Done?
Before adding the Cherry Lola Treatment to your regimen, consider your hair type and condition. You can do it 1-4 times per month to get shiny, defined curls.
3b and 3c hair types may want to use this treatment twice a month, while 4a, 4b, and 4c hair types may want to do it more often to combat dryness and breakage. Experiment with this fun and interesting treatment to figure out how often you should use it to benefit.
Remember that it is an intense protein treatment, so you may want to do it less frequently if you are protein-sensitive. Also, if you do it more than once a month, you should lessen the treatment time to 10-15 minutes instead of the full 30 minutes.
Ingredients for Cherry Lola Treatment:
The original mixture helps naturals enhance and define curls. The following ingredients are affordable, and you can find them at a local grocery or health food store:
- 16 oz. Full-Fat, Plain Yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons of Baking Soda
- 2 Tablespoons of Braggs Liquid Amino Acids
This mixture works well on low-porosity hair because the baking soda gets the cuticles to open. The baking soda lifts the cuticle, making the hair more porous and easier to manipulate and comb.
The yogurt conditions the hair and adds softness. Using amino acids is an easy and expensive way to add protein to your regimen.
Avoid using substitutes like soy sauce for the liquid amino acids. Braggs Liquid Amino Acids is similar to soy sauce, but it is not the same.
Soy sauce is fermented and has additives like wheat, so be sure to get Braggs.
How to Apply:
Applying the Cherry Lola Treatment is easy. It can be done on clean or dirty hair but works best on clean.
1. Mix ingredients in a medium-sized bowl using a whisk or spoon until mixture is thick and foamy.
2. Part the hair into 8-10 sections. Apply a generous amount to the roots and coat the hair from root to end. Wrap the hair into a plastic shower cap. You may want to wrap a towel around your neck to protect clothing.
3. Leave it on for 20-30 minutes. Use an overhead dryer with low to medium temperature if you want to use it with heat, but do not use a blow dryer.
4. Rinse the hair with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse or a co-wash.
How long should you the Leave the Cherry Lola Treatment on your hair
You should leave the treatment on your hair for 30 minutes or less, depending on the porosity and condition of your hair. Women with high-porosity hair or sensitive skin should not leave the Cherry Lola Treatment on longer than 20 minutes.
Leaving it on too long could result in dryness, reversing your efforts to add and retain moisture. The goal is to encourage the hair to maintain moisture and shine.
If you find the mixture too drying, try decreasing processing time or making it without baking soda. You can apply the Cherry Lola Treatment anywhere from twice a week to once a month.
It’s all up to how your hair reacts to the treatment. Try making a hybrid version of the Cherry Lola original recipe by adding bentonite clay.
Bentonite clay is an excellent hair detoxifier and great for adding sheen.
Is the Cherry Lola Treatment Safe
The ingredients in the Cherry Lola Treatment are regarded as safe, but the Braggs Liquid Amino Acids ingredient is derived from soy, so you’ll want to omit it if you are allergic. Measure and mix all ingredients well, and do a strand or skin test before applying to the entire head.
The mixture has a unique smell, so be prepared for a scent of soy sauce or even ammonia from the baking soda and Braggs. It is not recommended to leave the mixture in your hair overnight.
Baking soda makes hair porous because of the high pH and can cause long-term damage if you exceed the processing time. Now it’s your turn to discuss.
Have you tried the Cherry Lola Treatment, and if so, how well did it hydrate your hair?
Hey Curl Friend, I’m Patrina Haupt the creator and author of Natural Hair Queen. I hope you find my healthy hair care tips helpful in your hair journey. Healthy hair care practices are definitely, what helped me to achieve waist length hair.
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Tiffany says
Do I put it in the icebox and for I make a lot where do I get liquid from
Patrina says
You can buy the liquid amino acids from any health food store or online.
Karen Anderson says
I’ve always wanted to do the Cherry Lola Treatment, however, after doing my research, I see you can substitute the bentonite clay. But which ingredient do you substitute it with and how much would you use? Please advise me in this. Also, I heard after doing the CLT, it is good to do the MHM. My question here is how long should you wait before doing the MHM after the CLT? Is it one day? The next week? Or are these two treatments the same? Please reply.
Thank you
Karen Anderson
Patrina says
Hi Karen thank you for reaching out. You can substitute the baking soda mix for bentonite clay which would give you a deep cleanse without stripping your hair of it’s natural oils, and will help your hair to absorb the products you use afterwards. After any treatment that removes product build up it’s best to give yourself a moisture rich deep conditioning treatment your hair will drink it up and thank you.
Nanette Coker says
I want to try this treatment I watched a lot of videos on this. Some of videos the girls are doing it on dirty hair. I read that it’s better done on clean hair I want to know if I should wash with regular shampoo?
Patrina says
It would be best to wash your hair with sulfate free shampoo.